In a recent sermon in our series in the Gospel of Mark, we took time to redirect to the Gospel of Luke, where we find a fuller account of Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. In Luke 4:1-13, we see five important truths about Satan’s involvement in temptation.
Satan attacks when we are most vulnerable (vv. 1-3).
It’s important to note that Jesus was attacked after forty days of fasting in the wilderness. He was hungry. He was starving. Even then, however, Jesus resisted. The devil’s first temptation appealed to a legitimate physical appetite—the body’s desire to be fed. He struck at the point of greatest need—of greatest weakness—where Jesus was most vulnerable. Satan tempted Jesus to turn stone into bread.
Satan will often do the same to you; that is, he will take advantage of your weaknesses. He will tease his lies into the crevices of your heart, where fears and doubts exist, and tempt you to live out your natural tendency toward self-will and self-government—living for yourself, instead of for the Lord.
Now, it’s very important that you understand one major difference between our temptation to sin, and Jesus’ temptation. When Satan tempts us, it is often
To continue...read the full-length post originally published on this site.
